Why does the plane refuel in the air?

For ordinary military aircraft, aerial refueling technology can fly tens of thousands of kilometers without landing, which seems unimaginable in the past, but now it has become a reality with the emergence of aerial refueling technology. Simply speaking, aerial refueling technology is a technology in which an aircraft refuels another aircraft (or helicopter) in the air to increase its range and endurance. In recent years, aerial refueling technology has been more widely used. Aerial tankers frequently appeared in some local wars, such as the Battle of amama, the American invasion of Panama and the 199 1 Gulf War, which all played an important role. On April 5th, US Air Force 1985, 18 F-11E fighter-bombers and 3 EF-11electronic jammers were pulled from Britain. From take-off to landing, continuous flight 10000 kilometers and six refueling times in the air made this long-distance raid successful. Since aerial refueling is so important, when did this technology appear? According to reports, as early as the first plane came out, some people proposed aerial refueling to extend the idle time of the plane or reduce the fuel load of the plane, making it easier to fly. The first aerial refueling took place in the 1920s. The method is to install a hose with a length of 15m on the tanker, and the head of the hose has a valve, which can quickly cut off the water flow. When refueling in the air, the tanker puts down the hose and slowly skimms the receiver from the upper back. When the person on the receiver grabs the hose, it indicates that the docking is successful. Then, insert the hose into the oil tank, open the valve and start refueling. However, in the twenty years after the first aerial refueling, the new technology of aerial refueling was ignored and shelved. It was not until the jet plane appeared after World War II that the aerial refueling technology made new development. The current aerial refueling technology is no longer a manual operation. So far, there are two kinds of mature and widely used aerial refueling equipment, one is hose refueling equipment, and the other is telescopic tube refueling equipment. However, no matter what kind of aerial refueling equipment or method is adopted, modern aerial refueling still needs the correct operation of the pilot and the close cooperation between the tanker and the receiver to complete the task safely. Generally speaking, the process of modern aerial refueling is roughly as follows: first, the tanker and the receiver must meet at a predetermined place at a predetermined time before aerial refueling can be carried out. Then the receiver is docked with the tanker. After the docking is successful, the refueling system automatically connects the oil circuit according to the signal. After refueling is completed, according to the instructions of the tanker, remove the oil receiver to complete the whole refueling process. According to incomplete statistics, there are thousands of dedicated aerial tankers in service in the world, and there are more than a dozen countries with tankers, such as the United States, Russia, Britain, France, Saudi Arabia and Israel. Among them, the United States is a veritable aerial tanker country, accounting for three-quarters of the total number of aerial tankers in the world. KC- 135, KC- 10A, KC- 130F and Ka -6D are the main aerial tankers used by the US Army, Navy and Air Force, all of which were used in the Gulf War. For a long time, the countries that can independently develop special aerial tankers are mainly the United States, Britain and Russia, and other countries or regions mainly use their finished products and equipment. Now, China has independently developed its own aerial refueling machine, becoming one of the countries with aerial refueling technology. Air refueling technology not only increases the range of combat aircraft, but also greatly improves the survivability of aircraft, becoming an important support force in modern warfare, making it possible to complete tasks that were impossible. The application of aerial refueling technology has changed the traditional concept that people only determine the task type according to the fuel load and voyage of the aircraft, and made people have a new understanding of the combat capability of tactical aircraft supported by aerial tankers. Aerial refueling technology will surely play a more important role in future wars.